Henry Hargreaves is a creative photographer from New Zealand. He lives in Brooklyn, NY which right now he thinks is the best place for him. Henry likes all the usual healthy pursuits a young man should and he feels very lucky to be able to make a fulfilling living as a photographer. It was a pleasure for us to take an interview with Henry Hargreaves.

AP: Henry, tell us about your first photos. What did they look like?

HH: My first photos were nothing special. When I’m not on assignment I take pictures of events to trigger my memory of a time or event. I don’t try and do something arty. I am like this, when I’m off the job the pictures are quite literally point and shoot. Although, I come from a creative family and always liked making creative things and drawings. But I did that just for my own satisfaction than trying to impress somebody. I didn’t try to do anything unique with the camera until late at high school when I came across the work of the Starn twins and their images made me willing to take pictures and do something cool with them.

AP: Do you have any formal education in photography or were you self-taught?

HH: I took photography classes at high school and learned dark room technique there, then I studied film at University. But when I moved to NY I was modeling so would ask the photographers about how different cameras, lighting modifiers, film would affect the pictures. I then brought a simple set up and began experimenting by myself.

AP: What genre are your works?

HH: I began working in fashion as this was what I knew as a model, but my first paid assignments were in still life work and to my surprise I enjoyed working with products and sets ups more than live models. I like to work between traditional genres as I am more interested in making fun and memorable images than I focusing on just one style. I feel it keeps me fresher doesn’t limit my vision.

AP: How would you describe your photos?

HH: I want them to be something that can be enjoyed. They are fun, often colorful, fresh, playful, unique and provocative.

AP: What kind of equipment and techniques do you use to create your photos?

HH: I primarily shoot digital. Lightroom is my preferred capturing software and then polish my pictures in Photoshop, although I don’t like to do too much work on my pictures after, the goal is to get as close to the final result at the shoot.

AP: Would you consider yourself as an expert in photography?

HH: No, I have a lot to learn and always will as new software and equipment is always being developed. I never want to be tied down by what I don’t know so I’m always in search of new aesthetics.

Sagmeister

AP: What is the most grandiose project you had to work on?

HH: I did a campaign for a Middle Eastern department store with Sagmesiter design. The color scheme was black and white and required all the models to be painted with intricate patterns that matched the background. There was about 12 hours of body painting, hours of set building then getting the model and the sets working together, you can see the outcome on my site.

AP: What is the formula for success in your activity?

HH: I believe success in photography is a combination of talent, motivation and being someone people like to be around. You need to have a good amount of each and not be someone who hates on other people’s work or just talks about themselves. For me I think blogs are the best barometer of what is happening, so I pay more attention to these than any magazine or contest. People profile what’s happening while not trying to pamper to advertisers and for me to be given attention by blogs I respect is the ultimate affirmation of becoming successful.

AP: Is there someone who supports you in your creativity?

HH: I have a great network of supportive friends and family, I don’t think there has ever been a single objection from anyone who thought I was out of my mind to try for this career. Most of my friends are creative and I think our interests and curiosities in things fuel our collective creativity.

AP: Would you like to wish something to your readers and AstrumPeople?

HH: I have a new book coming out in November; it’s a follow up to my first 3D book of breasts, 3DD. This one has much more variation of boobs, cooler locations and even better 3D. Check it out at www.3-dd.com.